


Book Commentary: Good Omens

by mlmcg12



Series: Book Blog Transcripts [18]
Category: Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Cross-Posted on WordPress, Gen, Spoilers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,530
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28948914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mlmcg12/pseuds/mlmcg12
Series: Book Blog Transcripts [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2123052





	1. In the Beginning

  * “….and rain hadn’t been invented yet.” Off to a great start already.
  * Crawly the snake demon? BOOO! Bad pun!
  * And so begins the BroTP between Crowley and Aziraphale. Or whatever it is they’ve got going on.
  * And I love Crowley’s bit in the cast list: “An Angel who did not so much Fall as Saunter Vaguely Downwards.” (Honestly, if that were me, it’d probably say something more about tripping over my own feet.)
  * I’m laughing about the one time, someone on Tumblr asked Neil Gaiman what Dog would look like in the upcoming TV adaptation (note to self: at some point, I should do the trial version of Amazon Prime, binge watch the show when it drops, and immediately cancel said free trial), Neil vaguely described how Dog would look like he was supposed to in the book, and the immediate next post on my dash was a dog who very loosely fit that description. That was one of the closest moments I’ve had to “hey, look, my dash did a thing.”




	2. Eleven Years Ago

  * First of all, that’s a very specific time for the creation of the universe (even if it is like 15 minutes off). Second of all, I’m suddenly reminded of only the one guy’s theories on the afterlife being more accurate than most religions on _The Good Place_.
  * The whole thing with dinosaur fossils being fake and some sort of cosmic joke makes _Jurassic Park_ a lot more interesting.
  * Are salads evil? Discuss in the comment section below.
  * So, basically the “dark and stormy night for evil events” is just a bad stereotype because the weather doesn’t like to cooperate and because evil’s just kinda all over.
  * Yeah, this is going to take a while. I’m only like 2.5 pages into the chapter-thingie? the section? and there’s like 50 pages or so total. ~~I’m probably going to end up taking a dinner break soon.~~
  * So, Crowley’s Crowley now. Also, Queen is amazing.
  * Speaking of Queen in fiction, I wonder what happened to Freddie Mercury in the _Good Place_ universe… I feel like he’s been mentioned at least once, but I forgot what they actually said.
  * I know using an updated version of “Time Warp” from _Rocky Horror_ in the _Hillywood Show_ ‘s _Doctor Who_ parody made sense because context, but now that David Tennant is Crowley, I wish they would’ve done a Queen song (in addition to using “Another One Bites the Dust” in the _Walking Dead_ parody). Hindsight is lovely.



* * *

  * Picking up reading three hours later…
  * Crowley’s driving around fashionably late, and he’s about to get pulled over by the cops. That’s lovely.



* * *

  * Picking up reading the next day…
  * So, apparently Crowley’s way of getting out of a traffic ticket is flipping-the-cops-and-then-some to screw up the cop car’s engine.
  * New awkward mental image: Hestur and Ligur as a cross between Croup and Vandemar from _Neverwhere_ and Trevor’s magma demon form in _The Good Place_.
  * What exactly does “going native” entail for a demon?
  * OK, but really, Ligur’s “demonic act of the day” is the only one that sounds vaguely “traditionally” demonic. Oh… Oh, crap… This bit reminds me of the plot of that _miraclr_ game I played for my YouTube a few months ago, but with demons. (For ironic reference, I picked Gabriel’s miracle, but the choices I made afterwards ended horribly.)
  * Crowley signed the contract with basically an unintelligible scribble. GO HOME, CROWLEY, YOU’RE NOT SPECIAL JUST ‘CUZ YOU’RE A DEMON.
  * What’s got Crowley so freaked out?
  * Also, this “spy movie cassette tape with ‘these are your instructions, and this’ll self-destruct ten seconds after it gets played’” bit has a demon choosing to use Freddie Mercury as its voice but isn’t really Freddie Mercury, right? Right?
  * Crowley’s spy tape told him to start the end of the world because of course it did.
  * Hell is worse than Heaven because, y’know, Hell. That’s a great mental image.
  * Crowley got kicked out of Heaven because… peer pressure? Seems legit.
  * Wait, the what order of saint who?
  * Y’know, Mr. Young, maybe the nuns don’t want you around during the birth because the kid’s, y’know, maybe not quite yours?
  * OK, yeah, Mr. Young, that definitely ain’t your kid if Crowley’s showing up…
  * ~~Looks like it’s time for another dinner break…~~
  * So, the whole issue is because Crowley sucks at sleight-of-hand? OK… You know, I’ve seen a cat video where the cat is amazing at that ball-and-cup sleight-of-hand trick they described. HOW IS CROWLEY DUMBER THAN A CAT? Or maybe it’s Sister Mary who sucks at it? Either way, HOW IS A CAT BETTER AT IT?
  * Y’know, screw it. Everyone in the hospital right now is an idiot.



* * *

  * Picking up reading an hour later…
  * OK, is “going native” some British-ism I’m missing since I’m American? Probably…
  * Yep. Again, everyone here’s an idiot. Except for the mom, who’s over there passed out on the bed. And I’m redacting my bit about Crowley being one of the idiots (for the time being).
  * Yeah, call the kid Damien. That’s not a suspicious suggestion at all.
  * Ah, yes, Anathema. The first appearance of your generic Weird Kid (who will probably be a Weird Adult once the actual end of the world rolls around).
  * Why is Crowley liking sleep so much so relatable?



* * *

  * Picking up reading the next day (again)…
  * The Spanish Inquisition was started by demons (particularly Crowley)? OK…
  * The argument between Crowley and Aziraphale about how people get to be good or evil sounds familiar… *insert _Good Place_ jokes here* 
    * Speaking of which, I wonder what would happen if Chidi met these two…
  * Sister Mary, STAHP WITH THE WEIRD BABY NAME IDEAS. (Seriously, Cain’s a bit foreshadow-y, too, except for the parents being a bit oblivious to all of it.)
  * Also, isn’t having a name picked out for the kid in advance a bit of a thing now?
  * And… Adam it is? Maybe?
  * Yeah… The Other Kid is screwed.
  * Why do I get the feeling this Newton kid’s going to blow shit up at some point? And not just blow out the house’s circuit breaker?
  * Yep. Adam it is.
  * And it’s still not a dark and stormy night because of course not.
  * So Hastur’s the one Fucking Shit Up now?
  * Crowley and Aziraphale are at the frenemies point now? Or something? (Screw it, I’m calling them C and A now. At least until I forget.)
  * The angel hates humanity, and the demon loves humanity. OK, sure.
  * Oh, finally, a footnote aimed for Confused Americans like me.
  * Ducks… having a discourse on bread… OK…
  * Actually, I’m calling them A Zero Fell and Cruelly now, based on this Tumblr post: <http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/184278087551/make-yourself-a-cup-of-tea-and-watch-this-good>
  * Most of the good musicians are in Hell… No, but how many subtle references to this book DID they put in _The Good Place_?
  * Cruelly and A Zero Fell are such adorable frenemies-or-something.
  * A Zero Fell owns a used book”store.” That’s lovely. 
    * Also, I love his Hilarious Typo Bible Collection.
  * Yes, Mr. Bilton “lost” one of his rare books. *squints suspiciously at A Zero Fell*
  * Yeah, there’s always the whole “weird prophecies and conspiracy theories” fad, isn’t there?
  * A drunken argument about animals? OK.
  * Aw, A Zero Fell, did you forgetted how to words?
  * What… A bird or something and a spaceship?
  * They’re arguing about the kid already? Oh, boy, wait until they find out Someone Fucked Up there.
  * Well, anyway, let’s see how their Agreement-turned-bet goes.
  * This Scarlett girl always looked 25? Even when she was a baby?
  * 666 Fifth Avenue… Wasn’t there a TV show about that place on ABC that got canceled halfway through its’ first season?
  * I know Sherryl being on Sable’s diet plan’s got to be a satire on ridiculous fad diets, but damn…
  * OK, at this point, are we going through the Random Assorted Characters Who May Or May Not Be Important Once Eleven Years Is Up?
  * So, did Mr. White have jobs at Important Science Places That Blew Up or something? Because he seems to have a bit of a track record for Creating Ecological Disasters.
  * This talk of ridiculous butlers reminds me of the bit in the beginning of _A Princess for Christmas_ when Jules is shocked that Paisley is a butler since he’s the butler to her niece and nephew’s granddad, and Paisley’s like, “P. Diddy’s got three” or whatever.



* * *

  * An Addendum A Few Months Later: Wait… These Random Assorted Characters are actually the Four Horsepeeps, aren’t they? Back to the regularly scheduled book commentary now…



* * *

  * …Wait, the nuns actually convinced Other Kid’s Parents to call him Warlock? Poor kid. But at least that’s not quite as bad as so many celebrity baby names…
  * Oh… Other Kid… uh, Warlock… is the Not-the-Antichrist, isn’t he… Someone Done Screwed Up, didn’t they?
  * Way to talk about _Transformers_ toys without actually calling them _Transformers_ Because Copyright.
  * No, but seriously, why all the focus on Adam for most of the chapter if he was the kid Cruelly and A Zero Fell were looking for instead of Warlock?
  * And now they’re finally catching on… right at the very end of the chapter…
  * Yeah, sure, ~~Adam~~ Warlock’s going to give his hellhound a terrifying name.



**Author's Note:**

> See also https://mmcgui12sbookblog.home.blog/


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